BACKGROUND The use of emergency services with prehospital stroke assessment and early notification to the treatment hospital (stroke code) is a crucial determinant of delay time for acute stroke treatment. We reviewed and summarized the literature on prehospital stroke code system implementation. METHODS Two databases were explored (last update June 20, 2011) with 3 key words (stroke code, st...

We have read with interest the recent article by Costa Navarro about trauma systems in Spain that analyzed several hospitals specialized in trauma care. We would like to congratulate the authors for their review of more than 100 centers in their study and for the conclusions to which they arrived, with which we agree completely. However, we would like to make some comments based on what we have...

Background Early access to critical care interventions may improve outcomes for severely ill and injured patients. A Cochrane review [1] in 2009 reported that evidence supporting prehospital emergency intubation is lacking, but this does not equate to lack of benefit and prehospital RSI remains controversial. South Africa faces unique challenges due to prolonged prehospital times and limited ac...

The purpose of this policy is to provide an outline of, as well as references concerning the resources and planning needed to meet the emergency medical care needs of the individual and the community. Emergency departments* must possess the staff and resources necessary to evaluate all individuals presenting to the emergency department (ED). Emergency departments must also be able to provide or...

BACKGROUND Many low- and middle-income countries depend on emergency medical technicians (EMTs), nurses, midwives, and layperson community health workers with limited training to provide a majority of emergency medical, trauma, and obstetric care in the prehospital setting. To improve timely patient care and expand provider scope of practice, nations leverage cellular phones and call centers fo...

OBJECTIVES The benefit of prehospital endotracheal intubation (ETI) among individuals experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OOHCA) has not been fully examined. The objective of this study was to determine if prehospital ETI attempts were associated with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival to discharge among individuals experiencing OOHCA. METHODS This retrospective st...

BACKGROUND Less is known about the prevalence of pain in prehospital emergency medicine than about pain in the emergency department. Objectives. To estimate the prehospital prevalence of pain and to identify the factors associated with oligoanalgesia. METHODS The mobile intensive care units of the emergency services of a Paris suburb conducted this prospective study. All consecutive patients ...

trauma is a leading cause of death and disability especially amongst young people. road traffic crash–related death, injury, and chronic disability continue to be a major worldwide burden to drivers, pedestrians and users of mass transit, especially in low- and middle-income countries(lmic). projections predict worsening of this burden, and while motorization of lmic increases exponentially, a ...

The delivery of prehospital care varies greatly between the 25 countries of Europe, and in some cases between different regions of the same country. In most countries, prehospital care is delivered by doctors, often as part of training in another speciality. However, in some of the new countries the mere possession of a medical qualification is considered sufficient. Even in countries such as F...